24 Red Roses
by yukisana
Summary: With 24 red roses, will Sanada finally be able to confess to Yukimura? ALPHA PAIR


**A Prince of Tennis fanfic. One-shot.  
Valentine's Day Special.  
Alpha Pair a.k.a. SanaYuki**

**Story:** 24 Red Roses

**Rating:** T (generally K+)

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

**Author's note:** Happy Valentine's Day.

**Please review!  
**

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Sanada was leaning against a tree, hiding in its shadow. In his hand was a bunch of red roses, all of them in their full bloom. He touched a soft petal, stroking it gently as his heart beat _doki doki_. He muttered his rehearsed lines of confession again and again, his palms clammy from anxiety.

Today was Valentine's day – the day of heart-shaped chocolates, red roses and love.

And today... was the day Sanada was finally going to confess to Yukimura.

Yukimura was someone Sanada had loved for a long time; at first as a rival, then as a friend and now... someone more. Yukimura was everything to Sanada, and over the years, their relationship had become his most treasured possession. But it was not enough; Sanada wanted to be Yukimura's and Yukimura his. He wanted to tighten their bond further, surpassing the category of friendship.

"Sa-na-da~" A pair of cold hands covered his eyes. Sanada pried the hands off and turned around. Yukimura was standing behind him, a wide grin on his face.

"Yukimura," Sanada said, his face reddening, and hid the bunch of roses behind his back.

Fortunately, Yukimura did not realise Sanada's embarrassment as his attention turned to a pile of bags behind him. There were _at least_ ten full bags of gifts and Sanada could not imagine how Yukimura was able to drag them around. "You're so smart to hide here," Yukimura commented when he finally hauled the bags over to the base of the tree.

Sanada looked at him, puzzled.

"I was ambushed," Yukimura stated. Sanada nodded, somewhat amused at the thought of Yukimura among a stampede of screaming girls.

"It's not funny," Yukimura added, catching the slight upturn of Sanada's lips. "They almost ripped my clothes!"

"Actually," Sanada said, pointing at the sleeve of Yukimura's blazer, "it _is_ ripped."

The sleeve was almost torn off and Yukimura swore at the sight of it. He took off his blazer to avoid further damage and stuffed it into one of his many bags. "Urgh, I hate those fan girls. If I catch a cold, it'll be their fault."

Sanada sighed and shed his blazer; considering the weather, he could not believe that Yukimura was not wearing a jumper beneath the blazer (like he was). He handed the blazer over to Yukimura, who took it with a quiet "thank you".

"I can feel your warmth," Yukimura said, buttoning the blazer. It was one size too big, but nevertheless, Yukimura looked handsomely formal.

Sanada flushed and said, "We should go to practice now. We're late."

He began walking away, but Yukimura grabbed onto his wrist. "You can't."

Sanada's face reddened until the colour was almost identical to the bunch of red roses. "Why?" He asked, speaking slowly so he would not choke on his words.

"There's a crowd waiting for you on the tennis courts."

Sanada was silent for a moment. "But, tennis..."

"I cancelled the practice. It seems that everyone is being chased around by crazy girls." Yukimura shook his head and sat down, resting against the tree. Sanada sat down as well and watched as Yukimura began sorting through his bags of presents.

"By the way," Yukimura said when he was throwing his 38th box of chocolate into a plastic bag, "who're the roses from?"

Sanada did not answer, but when Yukimura began scrunching love letters, he spoke, "Why are you throwing the letters away? How are you going to return gifts on White Day?"

"I don't want to be bankrupt from buying heart-shaped chocolates." Yukimura chuckled, and then added, "Do you want some chocolate?"

Sanada shook his head. "I'll give it to Bunta then."

"You shouldn't feed him."

"He'll be alright."

It was then Sanada realised how close Yukimura was to him. He could almost _smell _Yukimura. There was a fresh, floral fragrance... perhaps jasmine or rose? "Tacky..." Yukimura's voice interrupted his thoughts suddenly. "Who gives someone _wilted_ geranium on Valentine's Day?" Sanada turned his attention to the flower Yukimura was holding. It was indeed wilting, but Sanada suspected that this was due to it being stuffed into a spaceless bag.

"Chrysanthemum... interesting choice. Sunflower? Rose... typical. Carnation. Rose. Rose. Rose. Rose..." Yukimura named the flowers as he sorted through them. "Hmm... I love roses."

Hearing that, Sanada took a deep breath and gathered his courage. Now was the time to confess.

But Yukimura added, "Poor flowers, planted only for the sake of one day."

Sanada immediately retreated. Now he could not possibly give Yukimura the roses. "Anyway, Sanada, you still haven't told me who your roses are from," Yukimura suddenly said, his eyes shining brightly in a way that Sanada could not quite understand.

"That's not important," Sanada replied after a moment of hesitation.

"Fine," Yukimura said and his eyes dimmed.

The bell rang and the two left for their respective classes. Before going to his class though, Sanada placed the bunch of roses into his locker (after clearing all the chocolate) and sighed. He seemed to be incapable of confessing.

After school ended, Yukimura told Sanada that there was no practice because most regulars were going on dates. Yukimura asked him if he would like to go somewhere for dinner. "Why so sudden?" Sanada asked, catching a glimmer of mischief in Yukimura's eyes.

"I told all the girls that we're going to Murigaoka to make an appointment for a friendly match next week."

"Are we really?"

Yukimura made a face. "Are you kidding? Those girls are even scarier than Rikkai's. Last time, they tried pulling my pants off!"

Sanada laughed. "Where do you want to go then?"

"A love hotel."

A horrified expression appeared on Sanada's face and Yukimura burst out in laughter. "I was joking! How about sushi... in Tokyo?"

"Why?!" Sanada had absolutely _no_ idea why Yukimura would want to go to Tokyo _just_ for sushi.

"I want to go shopping in Shibuya. I need to buy new tennis shirts."

"Fine. I'll come with you," Sanada agreed but felt a little annoyed at Yukimura's randomness.

"Thanks," Yukimura grinned and Sanada felt less irritated, "let's stay overnight at a capsule hotel."

"Why are we staying overnight? It doesn't take _that_ long to get back, you know."

"It's Valentine's Day."

"So? That has _nothing_ to do with us."

"I'm trying to justify our overnight stay, so shut up. And anyway, Tezuka and Atobe have a friendly match tomorrow and I want to watch it. Okay? Is that satisfactory?" Yukimura rolled his eyes and glared at Sanada. He had no choice but to agree.

They boarded the bus to Tokyo, sitting at the very back. Yukimura realised that Sanada was still holding his roses. "The roses... If you keep holding them that tightly, they're going to die quickly." Yukimura took the flowers from Sanada and examined it carefully. "Are they from someone you like? You seem to care about the roses a lot."

"No."

"Well, anyway, this person must really love you. Twenty-four for 'I can't stop thinking of you, twenty-four hours everyday' and red... well, for love." Sanada smiled at Yukimura's explanation; his buchou's love for gardening and his knowledge of the flower language both amazed and amused him.

After dinner at a sushi bar, they went to the capsule hotel the team usually stayed in when they were in Tokyo for matches. Yukimura booked the rooms while Sanada waited in the lobby. Yukimura came back with a scowl. "They're full," he said grumpily.

"Don't be upset, it's Valentine's Day." Sanada said, trying to cheer Yukimura up. They went to two other capsule hotels, but they were full as well.

"Shouldn't people be going home on Valentine's Day?" Yukimura was close to exploding.

"The trains have already stopped running," Sanada said and reminded Yukimura of the time. "Let's just go to a normal hotel."

Yukimura nodded. After ten minutes or so, they finally arrived at a small hotel. Yukimura booked the rooms while Sanada waited in the lobby, glad that they would finally be able to rest. "Jeez, it's not even Valentine's day anymore," Yukimura said and came back with a key.

Sanada frowned. "Why is there only one key?" He asked.

"Sanada, no matter how cheap a hotel is, it's still expensive for us. So stop complaining unless you want to spend another 10000 yen." Yukimura said grumpily and Sanada silenced. Upon arriving in the room, he was even more distressed.

There was only one double bed.

"You can sleep on the bed," Yukimura said, "I'll just sleep on the floor."

"No, you can sleep on the bed."

They argued for half an hour until Yukimura decided that they would _both_ sleep on the bed. Nervously, Sanada changed into the pyjamas and climbed onto the bed. Yukimura turned off the lights and slipped under the covers as well. Their hands brushed and Sanada was thankful that Yukimura would not be able to see his blush in the darkness.

Suddenly, Sanada felt a hand on his shoulder. He flipped around and gasped.

Even though he could not see, he could feel that Yukimura's face was no more than two inches away from his. He moved back a little and almost fell off the bed. "Sanada, tell me truthfully... are those roses for me?"

Sanada's heart froze. Then, it began beating abnormally fast and in the stillness of the night, Sanada could hear it as clear as Yukimura's words.

He took a deep breath, but just as he was about to confess, he was suddenly reminded of Yukimura's annoyance with his admirers. "No," Sanada lied, his chest clutching in pain.

"I knew it," Yukimura replied and flipped around, facing his back to Sanada. There was almost disappointment in his voice, Sanada noted. _Perhaps, rather than being so nervous all the time, I should just tell him. It may be the end of our friendship... but if I don't say it, I'll probably regret it forever._

With that thought in mind, Sanada called out softly, "Yukimura..."

"What?" Yukimura sounded annoyed.

"Those roses... they _are _for you."

For a few seconds or so, there was no response. Then, the blanket rustled and Sanada could feel Yukimura sitting up beside him. "Does that mean you like me?"

"Yes, I like you."

"As in _love?_"

"Yes, Yukimura, I love you."

Sanada felt greatly relieved, finally able to say the words he longed to say for such a long time.

Suddenly, there was something warm and soft on top of Sanada's lips. It took him a moment to realise that they were Yukimura's lips and another moment for a wave of shock to hit him. But he did not move away, simply allowing Yukimura to kiss him gently.

"You've finally told me... Genichirou..."

Yukimura climbed on top of Sanada, wrapping his body around Sanada's. "Yukimura..." Sanada called out lovingly.

"You can call me Seiichi," Yukimura chuckled and kissed the nape of Sanada's neck tenderly. Sanada could now identify Yukimura's floral scent as one of roses.

"Seiichi..." Sanada said. Satisfied finally, Yukimura pulled off Sanada's shirt before taking off his own. He pressed their warm chests together and kissed Sanada passionately. Sanada did not expect this, but it was certainly pleasurable and he had no reason to stop it.

"Hug me tighter," Yukimura said, nuzzling Sanada's neck. Sanada smiled and did as he was told. "Say my name again," Yukimura ordered once more.

"Okay," Sanada said, "but before I do... Have you been planning this all along?" Yukimura lifted his body from Sanada's slightly, letting out a quiet laugh.

Then, he leaned down again to kiss Sanada again.

"Maybe."

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**Please review! Happy Valentine's Day!**


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